Big Brother
by tinycandi2000
Summary: It wasn't like he followed her around on all her dates...not that he didn't want to.


Title: Big Brother  
Author: tiny  
Summary: It wasn't like he followed her around on all her dates…not that he didn't want to.  
Spoilers: none  
Disclaimer: Not. Mine.  
A/N: Just a little thing that popped into my head late one night. This is finished. Though I will soon post the sequel...

When everyone decided to go to Chauncey's, Elliot thought it would be a nice night out. He hadn't gone for drinks after work in awhile, at least not when he wasn't alone. So the idea sounded great. However as he sat there drinking his beer, he was starting to regret that he had agreed to go.

Elliot stared at his beer for a few minutes, and then glanced back to the pool table where Olivia was occupying herself. Elliot wished he was having as much fun as she appeared to be. But his mind was consumed with so much unnecessary concern for his partner that he wasn't having a good time.

He kept trying to reassure himself that she was a grown woman and able to care for herself. But he also saw her throw back one beer after another…lowering her inhibitions more and more. He watched the strange men flirt with her. He watched them put their hands on her. And he was desperately trying to erase the image in his mind of her kissing one of the men. Elliot realized that most of his uneasiness was rooted in jealousy rather than concern.

He took another long drink of his beer. The bartender walked over to him and asked if he'd like another. Elliot looked back at Olivia and then declined. He figured at least one of them should remain somewhat coherent.

Munch and Fin watched as Elliot drank his alcohol in a troubled silence. They didn't bother his thoughts; instead they just quietly talked it over between them.

"I guarantee I know what he's thinking about right now," Munch peering over his glasses at Elliot.

Fin chuckled. "Yeah…she's leaning over that pool table."

Munch glanced back to Olivia. It was obvious that Olivia had far too much to drink and was being overly attentive to the group of guys she was playing with. Munch shook his head and sat his empty bottle on the counter.

"Well I think I'm going to call it a night," Munch announced.

"Yeah, I'm all played out," Fin replied.

Elliot noticed his colleagues standing to leave. He nodded his good-byes and fixed his gaze back toward Olivia's direction. She didn't even notice he was there, let alone that he was watching her.

The man leaned down and whispered something that only Olivia could hear. Olivia smiled and then took another drink of her beer. It appeared that the two knew each other, although Elliot had never seen him before. He shook his head and quietly laughed at himself as he realized how ridiculous he sounded. It wasn't like he followed her around on all her dates…not that he didn't want to.

Olivia turned and noticed Elliot staring at her. She knew he had been all night long. She wrinkled her forehead and laughed.

"Hey partner," she said with a smile as she walked to his place at the bar.

"Hey," he replied as he looked away and finished the last of his beer.

"So you'll only look at me when I'm not standing right next to you?" She asked as she placed her hands on her hips. He turned to face her but remained silent. She tilted her head slightly. "What's wrong, Elliot?"

Elliot sighed. "Nothing. I'm sorry," he cleared his throat and continued "So who is your friend?"

Olivia playfully hit his arm. She looked back at the pool table. The man waved and Olivia smiled back at him.

"His name is Carsen. We met a month or two ago."

He was surprised that she'd known the guy for so long. Elliot studied him and figured that he was probably every woman's rendition of "tall, dark, and handsome" topped off with a killer smile.

"Nice guy?" Elliot asked.

Olivia laughed again. "Yeah…he's a nice guy."

Elliot could smell the alcohol lingering on her breath. He thought about stopping her when she ordered another. He restrained himself though, knowing that Olivia would resent him for being so over-protective.

"Actually," he heard her say. "I changed my mind on that beer." She turned to Elliot. "You ready to go home? I'm actually kinda tired."

Elliot smiled for the first time that night. "Sure. I've had about all the fun I can handle," he said as he stood to leave.

"Didn't look like you were having much fun," she replied. Elliot just smiled. "So why weren't you having any fun?" she asked.

Elliot shrugged. "Just wasn't my night, I guess." Like hell he was going to tell her that he was jealous she was with another man. "So why didn't you tell me you were dating someone?"

Olivia glanced over at him. "I'm not really dating him. We just go out and have a good time occasionally when I have a night off."

"Isn't that what dating is?"

Olivia made a groaning sound. She could tell he was jealous. "Elliot…stop. Carsen and I don't have a relationship. We just like to get together every once in awhile for some fun."

Elliot nodded as they started their walk down the street to Olivia's apartment. As much as he was trying to erase the entire situation from his mind, he couldn't help dwelling on it.

"Does he know about me?" Elliot asked after a prolonged silence.

Olivia was growing frustrated with him. "You've got to stop doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Acting like an over-protective father," she said as she stared him down.

"Hey! I take offense to that! I'm not that old."

Olivia chuckled. "Stop treating me like one of your daughters then, El."

He nodded reluctantly.

"How about big brother?" he added, playfully.

Olivia just smiled and rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I just care about you, you know that," he said with a sigh. "I don't want to see some guy just using you for sex."

"How do you know I'm not using him?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

Elliot spun his head around and looked at her. "Relax, I'm just kidding," she replied with a laugh.


End file.
